Idea for design of LED bulb

I had an idea to have an LED bulb that is basically just a giant curved COB led. Basically it would be shaped like an incandescent bulb, and it would be made of curved circuit boards (or close to it), two halves that press together, and the circuit boards would have chip-on-board LEDs on them. So with this design the thing would be completely hollow like an incandescent, so the electronics would have plenty of space inside. So after the electronics are placed inside, the other half would be pressed on and sealed. Then the whole thing would be coated in phosphor-infused gel (like on a COB), and finally an edison screw base would be attached to the bottom.

So the bulb would be just a giant curved COB led shaped like a bulb, and there would be plenty of space inside for electronics so there would be a lot of freedom to designing the electronics, and it would be efficient and won't flicker.

If there would be enough demand, they could be mass-produced like CFLs and be dirt cheap.

What do you think of this idea?

The closest thing to what you are describing is the Nanoleaf LED bulb which uses a geometric shape. In terms of manufacturing, it is actually very difficult to have a curved circuit board, and probably would substantially raise costs.

There are countless different shapes being used in LED bulb designs, and each one has its advantages and disadvantages. There are many engineering minds at work coming up with clever inventive design ideas in all these companies.

poiihy said:

I had an idea to have an LED bulb that is basically just a giant curved COB led. Basically it would be shaped like an incandescent bulb, and it would be made of curved circuit boards (or close to it), two halves that press together, and the circuit boards would have chip-on-board LEDs on them. So with this design the thing would be completely hollow like an incandescent, so the electronics would have plenty of space inside. So after the electronics are placed inside, the other half would be pressed on and sealed. Then the whole thing would be coated in phosphor-infused gel (like on a COB), and finally an edison screw base would be attached to the bottom.

So the bulb would be just a giant curved COB led shaped like a bulb, and there would be plenty of space inside for electronics so there would be a lot of freedom to designing the electronics, and it would be efficient and won't flicker.

If there would be enough demand, they could be mass-produced like CFLs and be dirt cheap.

What do you think of this idea?

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It will be too expensive and too difficult to build (compared to other solutions) and will be a failure in the market as almost no one will buy it.

It is also based on the proposition that a 360 radiation pattern is ideal .... which is rarely the case. It is sort of like All-Season tires ... which means a non-optimum tire in every single season.

SemiMan said:

It is also based on the proposition that a 360 radiation pattern is ideal .... which is rarely the case. It is sort of like All-Season tires ... which means a non-optimum tire in every single season.

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That is a valid point. I choose between a couple of different LED bulbs based on the installed position. The Cree bulbs give light in a more circumferential (?) pattern.....while one of the Philips designs faces the LEDs axially. So, in a downlight, the Philips are better suited. In other fixtures, I tend to use the Cree bulbs. You don't need as many lumens when they are going where you need/want them.

I'm not sure that all made sense, but you should get a good idea of what I'm trying to say.

kingofwylietx said:

I'm not sure that all made sense, but you should get a good idea of what I'm trying to say.

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Yes, the thing with many basic LED bulbs is that they emit a large amount of their light towards one direction—upwards—even though they were not really intentionally designed to be directional. This can give them advantages in certain situations, but it is also a negative in many others.

Closest thing would be those corn-cob style LED bulbs, but then with the corn-cob shaped like the bulb's outer shape. Especially for larger model bulbs, it would be a good way to distribute heat over the largest possible area (and thus transfer it to surrounding air easier).

Whether that's a good design for the electronics inside, is another matter. Electronics in their own section, with a nice metal cooler along the base of the bulb, may well be better (this of course depends on the details). After all: for the average LED bulb, the LEDs seem to cope better with heat than most electronics.

When placed in the center of the bulb, cooling for the electronics could be improved by filling the whole bulb with a suitable liquid rather than air. Oh wait - IIRC that has been done! :huh: Another option might be to gas-seal the bulb, and fill with a gas that conducts heat better than regular air. Perhaps at some pressure, to increase # of gas molecules that conduct heat. Not sure if that has been done... :thinking:

But in the end,

SemiMan said:

It will be too expensive and too difficult to build (compared to other solutions) and will be a failure in the market as almost no one will buy it.

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says it all. Even a technical superior design is useless if you can't find buyers for it. Read: in today's market, what will sell is improved quality at same price. Or same specs at a lower price. Kind of the same thing really...

Maybe if these designers focused more on the actual LED emitters themselves, rather than just the bulb design, the quality of light would be better. Maybe this is just a more advanced technological area, which fewer engineers are familiar with, or that takes more resources to develop. But the heart of an LED fixture is its emitters and phosphor formulation.

I guess most people just feel that normal emitters are "good enough".